The Tudor Society

Plays with wonderful titles, Sir Ralph Sadler’s busy life, and a dying king makes his will

In this first part of This Week in Tudor History for week beginning 29th March, I talk about William Wager, a playwright and clergyman who picked wonderful titles for his works; the interesting life and career of Sir Ralph Sadler, who started out working for Thomas Cromwell and who went on to serve Henry VIII, Edward VI, Queen Jane (Lady Jane Grey) and Elizabeth I - oh, and I will tell you about his bigamous marriage! Then, finally, I will leave you with the dying King Henry VIII making his last will and testament.

https://youtu.be/1VrDKc-VGfI

--Contents of this video--
00:00 - Introduction
00:31 - 29th March 1591
03:35 - 30th March 1587
14:24 - 31st March 1509

29th March 1591 - The burial of playwright and Church of England clergyman, William Wager, at his church, St Benet Gracechurch. His plays included “Enough is as Good as a Feast” and “The Longer thou Livest the More Fool thou art”.

30th March 1587 - The death of diplomat and administrator, Sir Ralph Sadler, in his 80th year. He was laid to rest in St Mary’s Church, Standon.

31st March 1509 - The dying Henry VII made his last will and testament at Richmond Palace. He died three weeks later.

Sir Ralph Sadler's letters and speeches can be read at https://archive.org/details/statepaperslette01sadluoft/page/n3/mode/2up?view=theater
and https://archive.org/details/statepapers02sadl/page/n9/mode/2up?view=theater

Other Tudor history events for these dates:

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Plays with wonderful titles, Sir Ralph Sadler’s busy life, and a dying king makes his will